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The Third Time is a Charm	By : ladyedgecombe Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 45350 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don’t own the HP Universe. I admire. Rowling for entertaining us with her world of make believe. I don’t make any money from writing this story, I just like to have fun and borrow her characters for a while but I promise to put them back

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
The Third Time is a Charm
Summary:
A child was born to return the pureblood ways of long ago, what would you do to save him? His inheritance stolen and his friends are traitors who can he turn to? Strangers appear-friend or foe Warn-language, child abuse, M/M SS/HP AD/RW/HG bashing
Explicit sex scenes, Severus will be OOC and a host of other characters.

Disclaimer: I do not own or have interest in any of the Harry Potter universe. I admire J. K. Rowling for entertaining us with her world of make believe. I do not make any money from writing this story, I just like to have fun and borrow her characters for a while.

Chapter 10: The Dursley's Final Mistake

Severus didn't know what was wrong with Dumbledore but he was making Severus' life one living hell. First, it was replenishing potions for Poppy, then it was Wolfsbane for Lupin and then it was extra Wolfsbane to try to get the other werewolves on their side. Next, he wanted Severus to go on several recon missions to find out if Voldemort knew anything about Harry. Sometimes he thought the old coot was keeping him busy on purpose.

Adding on to that, the Dark Lord had summoned him five times already. Said he felt a change in the bond he had with the young boy and wanted to know why the connection was weakening. But Severus already had an idea on why the bond was not as strong as before, it was the soul bond that had started with Severus after their night together. Although they had not seen each other since then, he somehow could feel that Harry was alright. He knew when Harry was hurting but also knew that it was not as bad as it could have been. He had been warring with himself every time he felt a twinge of pain where Harry was concerned. Severus only hoped that he could get Harry out of there soon but right now he was being watched too closely to be able to do what he wanted.

It was a week before his birthday and Harry had not been feeling well for the last few days. He was sick a few times and wondered if he had some sort of stomach flu. He brushed it off as this happened sometimes when he got back from school; it was not getting enough to eat after almost 10 months of eating well. His system just needed to readjust again. His Uncle wouldn't let up on the chores though so he just suffered through it, hoping Severus still wanted him and he would be out of there soon.

It was two days before his birthday when an owl started tapping on the window just as Aunt Petunia came into the kitchen.

"Owls! You know how Vernon hates those owls! You are not supposed to be writing to your freaky friends and getting owls!" Petunia shrieked at the offending animal scratching at the window. Harry opened the window to let the bird in so he could take the message tied to its leg. But the bird didn't let Harry touch it; instead it flew to his Aunt and stuck its leg out for the woman to take the message. Aunt Petunia gingerly put her hand forward, as if the bird were going to attack any minute and untied the message. She then shooed the bird back out the window before Harry could give it a little piece of the bacon he was currently cooking with the rest of breakfast.

The message was addressed to both his Aunt and Uncle. Harry had a bad feeling about this; he knew if a note was addressed to them it had to be bad news. No one ever sent mail to his relatives unless wanting to cause trouble. His Aunt took the note and called to her husband as she was leaving the kitchen. Vernon came down the stairs dressed for the day and wanting his breakfast so he could get to work. He was scheduled to meet a new client so he had on his best business suit and wanted to get to work a little early to go over his proposal one more time.

He took the note and read it as he was sitting down to the table where Harry was busy setting down the platters of food for the family to eat. "You, boy, you didn't tell us your Godfather was killed and it was probably your fault too, huh?" Uncle Vernon looked like he was just getting started into a good rant as his face was starting to turn an ugly burgundy. "You have been bragging about it all summer about you having a Godfather that was convicted of murder! And now we find out he is dead! Well! Serves him right! You are going to find out how we deal with little liars in this house! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME BOY?!" Now his Uncle's face was turning that putrid purple color when he was really mad. This only meant one thing to Harry; he was going to receive a beating. Never mind that he had not been 'bragging' about his Godfather, he had not mentioned him at all, he was going to physically feel the anger from his uncle regardless.

Vernon grabbed Harry's wrist harshly in a crushing grip that made Harry wince in pain. Then his Uncle, with a steely glint in his eyes, looked at Petunia and said, "Go get my old Smeltings' Stick, Petunia, and hurry!" As Petunia scurried off like a frightened mouse, the huge walrus of a man turned his rapidly purpling face back to Harry. "You are going to find out how we treat freaks who lie. There won't be enough of you to bury when I am finished with you boy." The longer he spoke, the tighter the grip on Harry's wrist become till he heard a slight snap. Harry was almost collapsed onto his knees in pain as his wrist fractured from his Uncle's harsh handling but the ordeal had just begun.

Meanwhile back at the castle, Severus was brewing another batch of Wolfsbane when he dropped the knife he was using to cut ingredients. He felt the pain shoot through his wrist as if it were being twisted around unnaturally. He didn't know why it happened, but the pain subsided almost immediately so he resumed cutting up his ingredients. His thoughts centered on how to get a few days away from Dumbledore so he could go get Harry on his birthday. He thought it would be nice if they could spend some time together. He knew that some of the Order was watching the house closely but he thought he could get around it. If only the old coot would leave him alone for a few days, it could be managed.

In an upstairs office in the same castle, the old coot, as Severus so aptly described, was watching with a sadistic glee at a monitoring orb that now was turning colors again. This time it was turning from the new blue color to red.

Pain, Harry was in pain.

Yes the boy needed to be punished for giving his virginity to someone else after all the plans and study the old man had done. Years ago he had found just the right ritual he had wanted to use on someone and Harry was the perfect candidate. He was just waiting for the right time to implement it. A couple days of this and he would go get Harry on his birthday so Poppy could heal him. Then Albus would be able to punish him again, but in a different way.

Back at Privet Drive, Harry's Uncle was in rare form. The Smelting Stick was found and Aunt Petunia scurried back to hand the offending weapon to her husband. "Vernon," she said quietly, "You can't hurt him too much. Those people will find out and come after us." Her face was white and pinched even more than usual.

"I am not going to kill the boy, you can't kill these freaks. I am just going to teach him not to lie to us anymore. It's no more than he deserves." Harry didn't see the flash of evil in his Uncle's eyes from his kneeling position on the floor, but Petunia saw it and she was starting to fear for the boy's safety. She had never seen Vernon this incensed before.

Vernon's face was a nice shade of purple now as his anger took over. He took the stick from Petunia and told her to go upstairs and make sure Dudley didn't wake up and come down. His Aunt gave him one last sorrowful glance and scampered along, really striking Harry as a little mouse this time. Vernon turned back to him with the stick in his hand. He raised it up and hit Harry across his chest. As Harry shouted in pain and tried to curl up into a ball to ward off some of the blows to his stomach and chest, he could already feel that at least one rib had been broken. The blows just kept coming and Harry took them as best he could finally letting the darkness take him as another strike across his back broke another rib.

In the castle, a very perturbed potions master could be found. Each strike on Harry's back with the Smeltings' Stick caused a twinge of pain to the older man of the soulmated couple. Sudden clarity came to Severus as another stab of pain, this time in his leg, almost had him on the floor. Harry, his Harry, was being beaten and was hurting very badly. He quickly spelled the cauldron empty of the its contents without his wand in hand or even mindful thought, grabbed his cloak and ran as fast as his feet could take him to the apparition point of the school. If they had spent more time together the bond would have been stronger and he may have realized earlier what was going on.

Dumbledore was still standing at his table of odd gadgets, watching the orb turn dark red as Harry was being beaten. He was thinking of all the things he could do with Harry once he returned to school. Since the boy had lost his virginity, given it away like it was worth nothing, he might as well have a little fun with the boy. Harry must be in an enormous amount of pain for the orb to turn that color. The old coot was in the best mood he'd ever had since all this started four or five weeks ago.

Severus made it to Little Whinging in record time, not caring who might catch sight of him. He ran to Number Four Privet Drive and pounded on the door to be let in. When no one answered, he checked the door knob, opened the door and stood for a moment in the doorway to try to figure out where Harry could be. He heard the uncle in the back of the house bellowing at Harry and followed the sound. The man was telling Harry about not lying, being a freak and how freaks should enjoy this as they were not normal people. The louder the man shouted at Harry and the more trash that came out of his mouth, the sicker Severus felt. He realized that his lover must have lived with these lies all his life and was almost conditioned to believe them. He finally reached the kitchen where he saw a bloody beaten child on the floor and the walrus of a man hitting him with some kind of cane and not letting up. It looked like his soulmate had been in that position for awhile.

All of this went through Severus' mind in a flash of understanding. He jerked the stick out of the other man's hand and pushed him against the wall without regard for how he landed. Severus pulled his wand from its holster and pointed it at the man now sitting on the floor, hit him with a stunner and turned to look at Harry. "Merlin Harry, what has he done to you?" Severus sat down on the floor next to his love and looked at the damage. There did not seem to be one spot on the poor younger man's body that had not been hit by that tub of lard stunned on the floor. Severus would deal with him later.

Severus gently laid a hand on Harry's face, the face he loved so much but was now unrecognizable with bruises and a cane marks across both cheeks. "Harry, can you hear me? Harry?" Severus spoke quietly, trying to get his lover to respond. "Harry, I am so sorry I didn't get to you sooner. Please love, wake up for me." Severus could hear the young man wheezing as Harry was trying to breathe, so he shifted his position to be able to prop him up a little to ease his distress. Severus then took out a few vials of potions he knew could help the young man in his arms as he held him up. He needed Harry to regain consciousness to feed him the potions. He had never wanted to see Poppy more than at this moment, but she was visiting her family and was not available. Harry was in no shape to be moved and he didn't have any way of reaching St. Mungo's from this location. His only hope was to stabilize him and then take him to the hospital.

Severus tried again, with an edge of desperation leaking into his voice, "Harry, please wake up, I need to give you some potions. There is something for pain here and something for healing and I have some Skele-Gro for the broken bones." The older man very gently touched Harry's face to get him to respond as he babbled incessantly to get his attention. He knew that if Harry would just wake up, then things were going to be alright. He had to believe that because a world without his soulmate was not worth living; because then, Severus would have nothing left to look forward to.

Harry started to move his cheek closer to the hand caressing it. Severus was instantly alert and studied the young man's face to see if there were any more signs of awareness or if he was still without any perception of his surroundings. It looked as if Harry were trying to open his eyes. "Come on love, you can do it. I need you to swallow a few potions for me so we can get you out of here and make you better." Harry groaned and his eyes fluttered open a little as he tried to speak.

"I thought...didn't want me, too much trouble." Harry started to say but his throat hurt from all the screaming he had done and he was having a hard time forming the words. "Didn't want see me like this." Severus just shushed him gently and told him not to worry, but Harry wanted to let him know he did not have to stay bonded to him and maybe he would be better off without him. He just couldn't form the thoughts well enough to get the words out. Severus tilted his head back slightly and fed him a pain potion which Harry swallowed very slowly. It did not get rid of all the pain, but it did dull it slightly so he could get a little more comfortable in Sev's arms and be able to take the other potions.

But they didn't seem to be working.

Harry knew that he was beaten for a long time even being in and out of consciousness during his 'lessons' as his Uncle called it. Harry knew there was more damage than Severus knew about, a lot more damage. He turned his face to his bond mate and tried once again to speak with him. It worked a little better this time.

"Severus,. you know I love you, and want to always be with you." Harry paused as he formed what he wanted to say next, "But,I don't think, I, I am going to make it this time. I can't, feel my... magic any more."

Severus turned his tearful obsidian eyes to look deep into Harry's emerald orbs and pleaded with him. "Please don't say that, love. We will get you out of here and to the hospital as soon as I can transport you. Just let the potions do their work for now."

"Sev," Harry started again in a whisper so low Severus had to lean closer in just to hear him, "You know they, they are not... not working, there is... too much damage. Huh,I guess my Uncle, finally did, beat the magic out of me. He's been, trying to do that for... years. He hates... magic... you know..."

"No, Harry," Severus beseeched his ailing mate, "please don't speak of this, I will get you out of here." But Harry was drifting in and out of consciousness again and Severus feared for the worst. After all, they had been through enough to get together in the first place and the mating of the soul bond, he refused to believe that he was not meant to be with Harry for eternity. They just could not end like this. Harry's wheezing was becoming worse now and Severus could almost feel the life force draining from him. He didn't know how to fix this even though he desperately wanted to. Severus didn't even notice his own tears cascading down his face, hitting Harry's chest with little splashes as he watched the younger man drift out of consciousness again.

Severus was so focused on the problem at hand; he did not hear the soft pop behind him which signaled the arrival of another person. A young witch with long hair of midnight black and emerald green eyes had arrived on the scene. She spoke gently to alert Severus of her presence. "Severus, I have come to help." She said softly from her position, three steps behind him. She didn't want to startle him and get hexed when they needed to move quickly."ï¿½Severus, can you hear me."

"Yes, but he is already dying, isn't he?" Severus said, not really asking a question but stating the obvious. He did not care if she saw the tears running down his cheeks. He was losing the only person in the world he cared about. He wanted so badly to go with Harry to where ever he was going to be now. He was so tired of this stupid war that caused Harry to lose his parents and put him in this situation and he was so tired of manipulative old coots that thought they owned the world and played every one around them like a chess match. But she was here now, and maybe there was still a chance.

If Severus had not been watching his soulmate dying, he would have wondered how this young woman appeared through the wards on the house. Severus, himself, couldn't do that and he knew where the house was. But none of this crossed his mind as he held his lover in his arms. He would gladly die in Harry's place but that wasn't one of his options right now. He really just wanted the younger man to be alive and alright.

"He will not die, Severus. We will help him. May I come closer?" Becca gently spoke to him as if trying to approach a wild horse. She needed to get closer to Harry to place the portkey on them both, but she still was not sure about Severus' state of mind. It was devastating to see someone you love so dearly in this condition.

"Yes, you may come closer, but the potions are not working and he needs immediate professional help. I have some knowledge of healing but he needs specialists and round the clock care, Merlin how can anyone inflict this much damage on one small helpless child. He won't even be sixteen for a couple more days." Severus looked at Becca for the first time in person. "So are you still a dream or are you really here to help?"

"Oh dear, I wasn't expecting this." Becca smiled and said "I'm not a dream anymore, I am really here, but we have to get Harry back with us for a few minutes; I need his consent to do some medical spells." She turned her face back to look at Harry and put her hand to his chest, barely touching it mindful of his injuries. She placed her other hand on Severus' shoulder and sending a little shock of magic into Harry's magical core, she boosted it just enough to get him coherent again. "Harry, can you hear me?"

Harry moved a bit to face the new voice. He had heard that voice before, he was sure of it, but could not place it right now. "Yes, I can hear you. Who are you?"

"Harry, listen to me, you are very badly hurt and I want to help. You had a dream about me, do you remember?" Harry only nodded his head slightly but it was enough. "Harry, your body right now has used all its magic to keep you alive, and now it is taking the baby's magic to sustain you," she heard Severus' sharp intake of breath but continued "but eventually it will kill you both. If I try to move you in this state, you will both die. Do you understand?" Again Harry nodded but he interrupted her.

"How can we save the baby?"
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The Third Time is a Charm